Black and White

 I was going to post these on FB on Monochromatic Monday but decided to make it mono Saturday

 ;-)

These were taken last summer when Amy was in town.

Travels With Carol

Italy

with Susan

This 2 week tour with my friend Susan was a whirlwind tour starting in Rome, south to Naples, Capri and Serrento and then north to Genoa, Florence, Milan, Pisa, a short hop to Switzerland, then Stresa,  Venice, Assisi , and I'm sure that I missed some but wow what a trip! We saw many basilicas and museums but the best of Italy was the food and the people ....best of all the light! The sun! I will always remember it. I came back from that trip inspired.

We had so many laughs and good times...taking the water taxi in Venice to dinner then singing and dancing through St Mark's, drinking a fancy ice tea on the waterfront in Capri, buying Lemoncello in Serrento,  staying in the convent/hotel in Assisi, buying my Cuckoo clock in Switzerland, a rain storm in Florence, the wonderful dinner in the hills above Florence....course after course, the total wonderment of Pompeii, Looking for sea glass in Lake Maggiore and so much more.

My heart is full when I think of Italy and I was so lucky to go again several years later.

 This is beautiful Lake Maggiore a lake on the south side of the Alps. It was so beautiful there and this was our view from the balcony of our hotel. All the balconys had flower boxes brimming with summer flowers.  There was an island (the name escapes me) that we toured with a castle and wonderful gardens. One afternoon we walked into the little town and had the best ever glass of sangria.

Our hotel was so luxurious....the lobby had the shiniest marble floors that I have ever seen...like glass.....of course, Italy is known for it's marble. I look pretty tan in this picture....all that Italian sun.

This is Milan...we were able to see the famous Galleria and also the beautiful and famous cathedral.

This trip was in 1997 but...oops, I skipped Paris that we visited in 1995.  Will post that next in my travel series. I was to go to Italy again (and Sicily) in 2000.

Fun Things Ahead

Can't wait for my trip to South Carolina...we have a few plans and fun things to do.
We had our Photography class meeting last night. Had a great turn out and we worked out a schedule for 6 trips, 2 of which I can't make. Looking forward to the Detroit Public Library main branch on Woodward also the barn tour and Woodlawn Cemetery. Undecided whether to go to the Meijers Gardens shoot. It's a 4 hour trip and a long day but Dave said there is a new Japanese Garden....a red bridge??? that sparks my interest. I'm into red bridges!
Bright and sunny today but it's only 35 degrees right now.

Atalaya

One week!

Today...the sun is shining!

It won't be long before the tulips are blooming

(took this photo several years ago at a cemetery know around the area for it's spring plantings) 

and then the daisy will bloom and it will be summer.

Travels With Carol

I have always been an Anglophile and dreamed of visiting England one day. I thought that it was out of reach but then I had the opportunity to go on a tour in 1992. It was more affordable than I thought and everything was taken care of plus a friend was able to go with me. 

We stayed at a manor house converted into a hotel. It was in the town of Bosworth made famous by the Battle of Bosworth where King Richard III was killed in 1485. The town is in the midlands and we took day trips from there. It was so beautiful and when I sat in the village square, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I was so far from home and that I was finally in England.

So the point of my travel stories is to recall the best parts of each trip. You know, I saw many castles, cathedals, ruins, museums and other landmarks, but what I remember most when I look back, are small things that made an impression on me.

For example:  the first time a storekeeper called me "love" 

"What will you have Love"?

Tea in a tea shop in Haworth, Yourkshire where the Bronte sisters lived and grew up. The town was all steep hills and so picturesque. You'll find that a lot of my memories are around food. The tea was a three tiered dish of little sandwishes followed by the same dish filled with cakes and scones and pots of tea....just like in all the books I read!

Taking the train from Liechester to London and looking at miles of back gardens of houses along the railway. Sitting in St. James Park and then watching the parade to the palace was another treat.

We saw so many wonderful sights...so many memories but best of all was just strolling along our little town and looking at all the beautiful English cottage gardens, attending Sunday services at an Anglican church, looking at old grave stone (I mean old), drinking in the local pub....loved all of that just as much as London, Stonehenge, Stratford, Nottingham, York and so on.

Wonderful memories still!

 After watching changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace

St. James park.....loved it there.

All these photos were taken before the digital age so these pictures were scanned. Sorry about the quality.

Happy Spring everyone! Kind of a gloomy day but temps are in the 40s and thank God there is no snow! Found out today that our camera class is starting after Easter and we are meeting on Monday to plan our shoots for this spring semester. I miss everyone and can't wait to get out there and photograph new things.